MOORHEAD-Concordia head coach Jessica Rahman felt junior Crystal Amundson was on the verge of a breakout performance. Amundson delivered Saturday at Memorial Auditorium.
The 5-foot-11 forward scored a career-high 17 points to help lift the Cobbers to a 64-60 victory against Bethel in Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference women's basketball.
"She was definitely into the flow of the game, you could see that from the get-go," Rahman said. "She was just bound to have one of those games. ... She lifted us to another level with her offensive stuff."
Amundson went 7-for-8 from the floor and 2-for-2 from the foul line, and had 11 points at halftime. Her previous best scoring output for the Cobbers was nine points.
"I try to give a spark every time I come off the bench and this time it was scoring," said Amundson, who transferred from Northland Community and Technical College (Minn.) prior to this season.
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The Cobbers (11-6, 7-3 MIAC) have won three consecutive games and remain tied for third place in the conference.
"That was a big, key win," Amundson said. "We're trying to keep rolling in the MIAC. We're just clicking as a team right now."
Amundson's early offense helped the Cobbers click against Bethel, and also rebound from a 7-0 deficit in the first quarter. She also scored key points late in the game.
Amundson sank an 18-foot shot from the baseline that gave the Cobbers a 59-54 lead with 5 minutes, 53 seconds to play in the fourth quarter. Junior guard Greta Walsh added a layup that gave Concordia a 61-54 lead with 5:15 to play, matching the Cobbers' largest lead.
"You know what I really love is the team unity that I see," Rahman said.
Bethel took a 40-39 lead after senior center Rachel Parupsky scored off a rebound with 5:29 remaining in the third quarter. The Cobbers countered with an 8-2 run that put them in the lead for good. Amundson started that critical run by draining a turnaround 15-footer. Senior guard Hannah Jeske capped that rally with a layup that gave Concordia a 47-42 lead with 2:05 to play in the third quarter.
"I felt like I could hit them so I took the shots," Amundson said. "Those are the normal shots that I'm taking. They just fell today. That's what my team really needed from me today."
Bethel 15 32 50 60
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CC 15 32 53 64
BETHEL (10-7, 6-4 MIAC): Zimmerman 6-15 12-16 24, O'Toole 1-5 0-0 2, Niewald 2-4 0-0 4, Schultz 0-2 0-0 0, Moorse 2-3 0-0 4, Miller 0-2 2-2 2, Kirchoff 1-2 0-0 2, Johnson 0-1 2-2 2, Parupsky 7-12 6-6 20. Totals 19-46 22-26 60.
CONCORDIA (11-6, 7-3): Johnson 4-9 2-2 10, Januschka 5-11 3-9 14, Walsh 2-11 2-2 6, Rosenfeldt 1-1 0-0 3, Mentzer 1-1 2-2 4, Amundson 7-8 2-2 17, Rahman 1-1 0-0 3, Simmons 1-1 0-0 2. Totals 24-52 12-19 64.
3-point goals: BU 0-5 (O'Toole, Schultz 0-2, Miller 0-1), CC 4-11 (Johnson 0-1, Januschka 1-2, Walsh 0-3, Jeske 0-2, Rosenfeldt 1-1, Amundson 1-1, Rahman 1-1). Total fouls: BU 18, CC 15. Rebounds: BU 29 (Parupsky 8), CC 33 (Januschka 9). Assists: BU 4 (Zimmerman 2), CC 15 (Johnson 5). Steals: BU 10 (Zimmerman 4), CC 8 (Jeske 3). Turnovers: BU 16 (Zimmerman 4), CC 15 (Jeske).
